Record Reviews

DAVID BROZA ~ LA MUJER QUE YO QUIERO (25TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION) NMC (ISRAEL) 20928 (Barcode: 7290011998882) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1982 - 1983 Released: 2009 3rd album by Israeli singer / songwriter / guitarist David BrozaFind albums by this artist, one of the country’s most prominent and active musicians since the 1970s, which brought Broza unprecedented success and fame on the Israeli music scene. Broza, born in Haifa, grew up in Spain and England and returned to Israel for his military service. His Spanish cultural roots and his Flamenco acoustic guitar style are a most significant factor in his approach to music, but those surfaced for the first time on this magnificent album, since his earlier recordings were mostly Rock oriented. During the late 1970s and early 1980s Broza participated in many projects, including the splendid Sixteenth LambFind albums by this artist, cooperating closely with poet / lyricist Jonathan GeffenFind albums by this artist. The story behind this album is quite interesting: Following Broza’s experiences during the war in Lebanon, he suffered a severe nervous breakdown and dropped out from the music scene. His wife persuaded him to pick up his guitar and start working again, asking him to create Hebrew versions of the Spanish love songs, which he sang to her during their courtship. Broza enlisted the help of his friend Geffen, who transcribed (translated would be inaccurate, as Geffen had no knowledge of Spanish and created the lyrics based on Broza’s impressions of them) the song’s lyrics in to Hebrew. The resulting album turned out to be one of the most impressive music projects ever recorded in Israel, with exquisite arrangements, beautiful instrumentation and superb vocal delivery. The original songs were written by some of Spain’s best composers / lyricist, including Joan Manuel SerratFind albums by this artist, Paco IbanezFind albums by this artist, Frederico Garcia LorcaFind albums by this artist and others. Broza truly understands and loves this music and his talent comes to full fruition, presenting him as he truly is – an outstanding performer. One original song by Broza was also included on the album. Soon after its release, the album turned out to be a hysteric bestseller, which is quite surprising, as its high quality (both musical and lyrical) is definitely far from being populist in any sense. As a result of the album’s success Broza toured the country for about a year, performing the songs from the album as well as many of his earlier songs. The final concert of the tour, recorded live, is enclosed in this beautiful Box Set on two bonus CDs with almost three hours of music. This album is perfect in every respect and this spectacular, beautifully packaged Box Set is a proper homage to the achievements of Israeli music. Essential stuff!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 3 Digipak Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

MIKE WESTBROOK ~ THE CORTEGE ENJA 9587 (Barcode: 063757958727) ~ UK ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 1982 Released: 2011 This is a reissue of the monumental work by British pianist / composer / bandleader Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist and his 17-piece Orchestra, recorded in 1982, which features some of the most important British Jazz musicians active at the time, many of them Westbrook´s cohorts many years before and after the recording of this masterpiece. This of course includes his lifetime partner vocalist Kate WestbrookFind albums by this artist, and among others guitarist Brian GoddingFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Phil MintonFind albums by this artist, trombonist Malcolm GriffithsFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Chris HunterFind albums by this artist and Chris BiscoeFind albums by this artist and bassoonist Lindsay CooperFind albums by this artist; in short a dream team by all respects. Originally released as a 3 LPs set it was remastered and released here as a double CD. "The CortegeFind albums with this title" is a concept album, related to the funeral procession and all it symbolizes, in this case a procession accompanied by music, like the customary New Orleans Jazz funeral which goes back to the cradle of the Jazz idiom, but not stopping there of course, neither conceptually not musically. The lyrics, which are incorporated into the concept, which are poems written by celebrated European poets: Arthur RimbaudFind albums by this artist, Hermann HesseFind albums by this artist, Frederico Garcia LorcaFind albums by this artist, Giuseppe Gioachino BelliFind albums by this artist, John ClareFind albums by this artist and Pentii SaarikoskiFind albums by this artist (included in the album´s booklet both in their original language and in English translations, when appropriate), present an additional layer to the conceptual approach, which presents a three part cycle of life / death / after(life), with all the philosophical, aesthetic and even theological aspects involved. Of course listeners interested only the musical layer of this complex work, are perfectly free to enjoy it as such in the fullest. Mike´s and Kate´s musical universe was always an amalgam of music and poetry in one way or another, and their approach to music as simply one facet of what we call Culture, being inseparable from its other manifestations, has been very consistent. Their familiarity with the literary world in many different languages and originating from all across Europe is truly phenomenal, and as an avid connoisseur of European Culture myself, I have always admired the Westbrooks for what they were doing. Since the Jazz & Poetry idiom, which this work and many other works by the Westbrooks belong to, is my specialty (bordering on obsession some may say) it is plainly obvious that I absolutely admire this album since I first heard it and unwaveringly continue to do so. In Westbrook´s prolific recorded legacy this album serves as a turning point in many respects; although some of the albums recorded before "The Cortege" already included literary references, like those dedicated to the work of William BlakeFind albums by this artist ("Tyger (A Celebration of William Blake)Find albums with this title" from 1971 and "The Westbrook Blake (Bright As Fire)Find albums with this title" from 1980), the inclusion of literary contents from this point forward was about to become almost a modus operandi, both for the large scale orchestral and more intimate projects. Blake, of course, is not missing from this album and a rendition of his eternal "Jerusalem" is included herein. It is fascinating to make a comparison of the orchestral arrangements present on this album with Westbrook´s early orchestral works from the late 1960s and early 1970s, which clearly depicts his ever developing palette as a composer / arranger as well as his shift towards less dominant orchestral sound, which is rarely used in its full might on this album with subtlety and allusion playing a much more significant role. In many respects "The Cortege" embodies the spirit of European Jazz; it includes a grain of the Jazz tradition, but expands the idiom dramatically, incorporating contemporary European Classical Music elements, Folklore, Rock, Cabaret, and a myriad of other musical and non-musical ingredients. This transformation could be described by a mathematical analogy of expanding a singularity (a point) into a multi-dimensional space. In retrospect this album is one of the most important European Jazz (and beyond) recordings, which to this day has very few, if any, equivalents and which serves (or rather should serve) as a model of human ingenuity in the world of Art, which is sadly extremely rarely followed by anybody these days. I can hardly imagine any serious European Jazz connoisseurs who miss this epic album in their collections. In case anybody does miss it, this can be easily rectified, as this remastered edition of the album is still available. Don´t dare to think twice about it!

Updated: 28/03/2016Posted: 28/03/2016

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend